


make a move and make it now

by salvadore



Category: DCU (Comics)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Catwoman Has a Sidekick | Catlad | Stray (DCU), Established Relationship, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-01
Updated: 2021-02-01
Packaged: 2021-03-12 00:15:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,176
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29126328
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/salvadore/pseuds/salvadore
Summary: Three months after returning from the grave, Jason is looking at engagement rings.
Relationships: Dick Grayson/Jason Todd
Comments: 10
Kudos: 144





	make a move and make it now

**Author's Note:**

> For the JayDick flash fic prompt: Big plans.  
> Please enjoy some low context Catlad!AU with an Aly &; AJ inspired title. xo

Three months after returning from the grave, Jason is looking at engagement rings on the top floor of the fine jewelry establishment, _Donatella & Company._

Gotham’s Diamond District boasts the finest gems and the finest craftsmen on the East coast, and there were a number of high end establishments that would have fit the bill from _Diamond in the Ruff_ , with it’s signature Yorkshire Terrier branding, to _Heavy Metal_ with it’s rarities and custom work, where it was rumored Catwoman had her claws commissioned. Even _Bijoux de Famille,_ where all the old money Gotham families spend their alimony, had a fine collection. Any one of them, Jason could have walked into on a sunny afternoon with nervous, sweaty palms and found something that would do, but as Jason stares into the case and looks at the intricate braiding and weaving of different golds that make up the bands of the rings, Donatella’s signature style, he finds only these are perfect.

Each ring is unique, the gemstones flawless, the bands seamless, and Jason could pocket any ten and collect a serious payday at an exchange. But there’s one in the back, an aquamarine hidden amongst the blue diamonds in all shapes and cuts. It twinkles like daring eyes in the moonlight.

Suddenly a crashing noise sounds from the floor below which sent the alarm screaming to life. The once dark and quiet store has erupts into light and noise, and Jason knows exactly who caused it. They measured out how much time it would take between when the alarm went off, and when they'd get caught. Something must have gone awry. Or worse, something had been too tempting to pass up, and now the clock is ticking. GCPD will be on their way.

Jason picks up his crowbar from the glass surface of the display case and with barely a breath of hesitation he slams it back down onto the glass, spraying broken pieces onto velvet displays where the shards dazzle brightly beside the diamonds. Red lights flash against the walls, bouncing off the chandeliers and windows and gems as Jason walks across the room, smashing case after case. His shadow is tall, monstrous, and nothing like that of the boy who had run around Gotham at Batman’s side.

He gathers the jewelry into black velvet bags, only sparing time to be careful when he is standing in front of the ring case again. He plucks the aquamarine ring out and slips it into his pocket. The rest of the rings join their spoils in the bag which are tied off and secured inside Jason’s backpack. In a matter of days the jewelry will be sold off by their broker. Then, two minutes down, and like clock work the police sirens wail from outside, and Jason tries to make up time by running across the marbled floors. They can't risk getting caught, or worse, Gordon lighting the bat-signal and bringing an unexpected reunion on their heads. Between the adrenaline in his veins, and the weight of the bag, Jason trips over his own feet, clumsy in a way he has never been before. He hasn’t felt this desperate or concerned since before he died.

Before he can lose his breath vaulting the stairs, ready to scream that there is no time left - quick as a cat, Dick appears at the top of the stairs. He vaults the distance between them, slamming bodily into Jason’s arms.

Dick’s body is warm from exertion, hot with excitement as he wraps his arms and legs around Jason and clings. The catsuits Selina made for herself and her apprentice have always belied the strength in Dick’s arms, the thickness of his thighs. Jason always thought that part of the reason Dick evaded suspicion for so long was Vicki Vale’s long columns on the cat burglar duo had described Dick as a waif that Selina must have found in the gutter. No one had made the connection between the recently orphaned acrobat and the appearance of her new sidekick.

Dick uses those legs to wrap around Jason’s waist, and Jason can feel the strength in them as he catches Dick under those thighs and hoists him right where Jason can hold him stead. How many times had Dick thrown him when they were kids? It had been so easy for Dick to use his weight to manhandle Starling - the boy Jason had been. Slighter and younger and eager - the Bat’s sidekick.

It had driven Jason wild every time Dick had outsmarted him and Jason had found himself pinned to the roof beneath a smug smile. " _Bat-penny for your bat-thoughts?_ " Dick would say, and Jason hadn’t known up from down - hadn’t known whether he wanted to kiss Dick or kick his ass.

This is no take-down, pendulum move. Jason holds Dick up with ease, having bridged the gap in their height and then some. Jason has enough strength of his own to hold Dick aloft as Dick rips off his mask to reveal a toothy grin, bright and mischievous as Jason remembers. He yanks Jason's mask off too, explaining breathlessly "I need to see you." The words get lost as he tries to kiss Jason. But even that’s a mess - he's all teeth and heaving lungs.

“Dick, we’re running out of time,” Jason reminds him gently. He presses his thumbs into the muscle of Dick’s legs in that way he knows will make Dick wriggle and laugh. And he does, Dick laughs against Jason’s mouth and it’s blessedly mirthful. Jason blood sings hearing it. This is the Dick he remembers, this is Selina's kid sidekick that Jason used to chase after while B pursued the Cat herself. This is Gotham’s Robin Hood, all boy wonder under the flirtation and back-flips.

Jason hadn’t thought he’d get this. Dying really puts a damper on hopes and dreams.

But it wasn’t just that. Time was its own crushing force.

They haven’t talked about it yet - the way Dick had broken down over Jason when he got back. The grief had been visceral. Jason thought Dick would never let him go, he'd held Jason's forearms in his hands so tight, like it was the only thing holding them aloft above a tall height. Jason’s plans to blow up Gotham and drag Bruce to his depths had been nothing in the face of what he’d found in Dick’s the apartment. Emptiness, loneliness, and a wall of red string that was proof of years of obsession - Dick had never stopped looking for him.

And what was revenge in the face of devotion? Wasn’t that all Jason had wanted when he’d shown up in Gotham - aching and broken down?

Here, now, Dick is in his arms, dripping with jewels and gold. He’s found a tiara from somewhere and perched it on his head, set amongst his long, dark curls. The garnets and rubies drip in long necklaces among pearls and diamonds. Jason imagines if they had more time, laying Dick down on the marble, stripping him to just the gems. How it would feel to straddle Dick's hips and hold the ends of the necklaces in his hand, and look down at the crown slipping from Dick's head. How Dick would smile.

But no, Dick looks like someone playing dress-up, and the longer Jason looks, uninterrupted, Dick’s smile wideness, becoming forced. He tries to kiss Jason again, and he knows it’s meant to be a seduction, but with the dip in adrenaline letting the real world back in - the pain is coming back into Dick’s eyes. He spent so long fighting - to stay alive in Gotham, to keep his head above water when Jason appeared, and to bring Jason back.

Jason touches Dick gently, all too sure that if he pulls on Dick’s lower lip that he’ll be sucked in.

“It’s time for the great escape,” he whispers, and after a moment, Dick nods, feet dropping to the floor.

They take off into the night, working together in a way they couldn’t in their youth. It’s half grapple guns hoisting them high into the air, and half secret passageways that Selina had shared with Dick alone. They’d meticulously planned the weaving path they would take through the city, just in case someone trailed them from the Diamond District and they needed to shake them off. They head for the one place they shared in their youth: the place where they’d broker and amend truces, and where Jason always suspected they would have their first kiss. That hadn’t been true, but he’s learning there’s always room for other firsts. First kiss in civilian clothes, first kiss goodnight, first kiss in Gotham.

First kiss on the roof of Gotham’s Old Church, standing amongst the gargoyles.

There's sirens and lights and the spotlight of a helicopter cutting through the streets of Gotham, but they’re so far away they’re nothing. Jason finds the familiar alcove set behind his favorite of the gargoyles. The winter winds have bitten and chipped away at the stone, leaving sharp points smoothed down. Jason touches it in passing as he pulls Dick into the safety of the church’s dark corners. The night sky and the stars are enough to see by, and under the gems and the crown, Dick is shining.

“What if we left for Paris?” Dick asks.

Jason reaches out and tucks a stray curl behind Dick’s ear. He lets his thumb linger on Dick’s cheek as he asks, “What would we do in Paris?”

“Anything! Everything!” There’s not enough room for Dick arms to fly out in exclamation, but he tries anyway. Jason catches them between his own hands, laughing helpless and so in love. He never thought it would feel like this.

“Are you asking me to rob the Louvre with you?” Jason asks, but he’s teasing. “I know Selina’s in Europe. Are you just trying to get me out there so I can do the heavy lifting?”

Dick laughs too. They’re too big for this secret hiding place. They’re falling against each other to have enough room. Dick fingers find Jason’s hips, but not just to steady him. They slip beneath the black sweater Jason wears, pressing cold as ice against Jason’s stomach. Jason hisses, and Dick replies with a soft apology and the whisper of his lips on Jason’s cheek.

“We could go. Just as us. Take in all of the tourism sites. Drink wine in the afternoon in front of centuries old cathedrals like we have nowhere better to be.”

“You can order in French like Selina taught you,” Jason teases. “Make me eat only snails and smelly cheese.”

“We could go and stay in nice hotels, and stay in bed all day,” Dick suggests.

"Feed me smelly cheese in bed," Jason says. Dick laughs again, hand slapping good naturally at Jason's chest. He catches them easily again, and kisses Dick's knuckles. The softest of sounds escapes Dick's lips. He tilts, leaning his forehead against Jason's. The energy of the heist has left him but this isn't the melancholy Jason has caught when Dick thinks he isn't looking. And it isn't the performance he puts on when he thinks Jason is looking.   
  
Dick kisses Jason's forehead, his hairline, and his temple. Jason wraps his arms around Dick's waist and pulls him close.

"I bet we could find a place with a bath large enough for the two of us," Dick says. "I dare use to stay there until we're decadently exhausted and prune-y."

Dick wraps his arms around Jason, resting his head on Jason's shoulder. The jewelry is cold where it touches Jason's skin, but he just pulls Dick closer. There's a moment of quiet and stillness, where they're so tangled up in each other that Jason worries Dick will find the ring in his pocket. He used to pick Jason's pockets as a kid - it was a test at first, then something to tease Jason with later. Jason worries Dick might do so now out of habit. The ring is heavy, Jason too eager to show it to Dick, show him how perfect is is, too soon.

“We could get married," Jason says. He's grateful his voice stays even, almost joking.

“Oh, _we will_ have to rob the Louvre if you want to marry me! Selina will expect nothing less than the finest stolen goods as a dowry,” Dick jokes. He think Jason wouldn’t, but Jason would. He’d steal everything in d’Orsay, the Grand Palais, and the Louvre. He’d steal the whole Eiffel Tower if that’s what it took.

“We better go to Paris then," Jason says. "When do we leave?"  
  
With his eyes closed, Dick smiles. "Tomorrow, if you want to." He slips his hand under Jason's shirt again, and his smile twists, mischievousness slipping in again. Jason covers hand hand over the sweater, stopping Dick's cold fingers from slipping further along his sides. Dick barks a laugh at being caught, and presses his other hand on top of Jason's. Easily, he says, "I love you, Jason Todd." 

"I love you too."

**Author's Note:**

> Many thanks to Empires for not only being a lovely cheerleader during the writing of this - but for knowing about this universe for literal years and being patient with me about it. Thank you so much ♥ Additional thanks to Volavi, nerd-by-definition, and Juliamidala for inspiration for the names of the jewelry stores. It was very much appreciated.


End file.
